Our American Stories

On this episode of Our American Stories, for thousands of years, human mobility depended on our own legs and the animals we could harness. By the early 20th century, millions of working horses powered American cities, hauling goods, carrying people, and creating problems of congestion, sanitation, and safety that the new automobile promised to solve.

Miles C. Collier, founder of the Revs Institute, explains how the horse, bicycle, and automobile transformed everyday life.

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On this episode of Our American Stories, Vince Lombardi transformed the Green Bay Packers into a dynasty and helped turn football into a symbol of discipline, leadership, and the American experience. But behind the championships, the famous speeches, and the legendary Green Bay sweep was a far more complicated man shaped by faith, family, ambition, and struggle.

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist David Maraniss discusses his landmark biography, When Pride Still Mattered, and explores the full life of Vince Lombardi: his Brooklyn upbringing, Catholic faith, coaching philosophy, devotion to excellence, complicated family life, and the leadership style that changed the NFL forever.

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On this episode of Our American Stories, few television comedies have had the lasting impact of I Love Lucy. When the show debuted in the early 1950s, Lucille Ball quickly became one of the most recognizable performers in American entertainment. Her success did not arrive quickly. For years, Ball struggled to find a role that truly fit her talent, moving through small film parts and studio setbacks before television offered a new opportunity.

Kathleen Brady, author of Lucille: The Life of Lucille Ball, joins us to tell the story of Lucille Ball’s long road to success and the breakthrough that made her one of the defining figures of early television.

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On this episode of Our American Stories, Amelia Earhart had already crossed the Atlantic by airplane, but in 1928 she had done so as a passenger. Four years later, she climbed into a single-engine Lockheed Vega in Newfoundland and set out alone, battling storms and mechanical trouble before landing in a pasture in Northern Ireland nearly 15 hours later.

The flight made Earhart the first woman to fly solo nonstop across the Atlantic and earned her the Distinguished Flying Cross, the first awarded to a woman. Later that same year, she added another record by flying solo across the United States from Los Angeles to Newark.

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On this episode of Our American Stories, Brent Timmons traveled to Louisville to spend a final few days with his Uncle Bud, who had recently been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Brent arrived hoping to help his uncle and wondering what they could possibly say to each other with so little time left.

Instead, the two spent hours talking about fathers, family, inherited traits, old wounds, and the people who shape us over a lifetime. Brent came to realize that even in his final days, Uncle Bud was still teaching him, leaving behind one last lesson about influence, patience, family, and the kind of legacy a life can leave behind. Brent Timmons is a regular contributor to Our American Stories.

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On this episode of Our American Stories, in 1852, Constantino Brumidi arrived in New York as a refugee from Rome. He was already an accomplished artist, but in America, he found the work that would consume the rest of his life. For the next twenty-five years, Brumidi climbed scaffolds, painted ceilings, and covered the halls of the U.S. Capitol with scenes drawn from American history and the ideals of his adopted country.

His greatest work waited 180 feet above the Rotunda floor. There, inside the Capitol dome, Brumidi painted George Washington, known to many as "America's Indispensable Man," rising into the heavens surrounded by Liberty, Victory, Fame, and figures representing the original thirteen states. Our own Lee Habeeb shares how an Italian immigrant came to paint The Apotheosis of Washington, earning a remarkable nickname of his own in the process: “America’s Michelangelo.”

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On this episode of Our American Stories, LAPD Senior Lead Officer Deon Joseph walked into a juvenile detention center expecting the kids there to distrust him. Instead of leading with his badge, he told them something they did not expect to hear from a police officer: “I love you.” He kept returning, shared his own story, brought in mentors, and slowly began earning their trust.

Joseph shares how that same approach shaped his work in downtown Los Angeles, where he built relationships with homeless residents and community groups that had long been suspicious of police. Be sure to check out Officer Joseph's book, Stepping Across the Line: A Skid Row Cop's Story, for more stories of his efforts in L.A.'s most notorious neighborhood.

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On this episode of Our American Stories, America was woefully unprepared for World War II. Our army was about the size of Portugal's, our navy was outdated, and our "air force" was roughly equivalent to what the German Luftwaffe flew on a near-daily basis across Europe. Not only that, but nobody in America wanted war, or expected it to come to us. FDR was under no such delusion. We needed weapons, and we needed them fast. But how could we get it done?

A.J. Baime, author of The Arsenal of Democracy: FDR, Detroit, and an Epic Quest to Arm an America at War, shares the remarkable story of how, through free enterprise, we became the strongest military power in the world.

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On this episode of Our American Stories, Titanic Thompson could hustle almost anyone. He beat gamblers at cards and dice, golfers on the course, pool players in smoky halls, and even fooled Al Capone with a rigged lemon toss. Born Alvin Clarence Thomas in rural Missouri, he spent decades crisscrossing America in search of bets he already knew how to win.

The History Guy tells the story of the legendary gambler who turned practice, mathematics, sleight of hand, and deception into an art form, and whose life came to embody a disappearing world of American hustlers, proposition bets, and high-stakes gambling.

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On this episode of Our American Stories, Burt Young grew up in Queens, the son of a working-class family, and spent his early years far from the world of film. He boxed professionally, served in the Marine Corps, and worked a series of jobs before ever thinking about acting.

That changed when he began studying under Lee Strasberg and started to take the craft seriously. Not long after, he came across the script for Rocky, and his live was forever changed.

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